White believes Sonnen's non-fighting future will one day be with UFC

Now that the world knows Chael Sonnen‘s decision, his boss apparently won’t have to worry about creating a new job for him just yet.

But one day, that moment may come.

Sonnen on Tuesday announced he won’t retire following his first-round loss to Jon Jones in the UFC 159 main event this past Saturday. Instead, the two-time middleweight title challenger and new light heavyweight title challenger will stick around at 205 and hopes to fight Wanderlei Silva, for starters.

On Saturday after his loss at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Sonnen wasn’t yet sure what he’d do. And UFC President Dana White said regardless of his decision, Sonnen’s future is clear-cut: He’ll be part of the UFC, one way or another when the time comes to hang up his gloves.

Sonnen currently serves as a host of FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” weeky newsmagazine show, and he also is a regular analyst for pre- and post-fight shows.

But when asked if Sonnen might be going down a path similar to White’s – at least in terms of how he promotes the UFC brand across many areas outside of the octagon – White shrugged off the suggestion that where Sonnen is concerned, imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery.

“I don’t think he’s patterning himself after me,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following the post-event news conference for UFC 159. “I think he’s a very smart guy and he sees a lot of opportunity in the sport, and he really is seizing a lot of opportunities in the sport. I like Chael. We like Chael in the company, and yeah – Chael’s going to stick around. He’s not going anywhere, no matter what he decides to do.”

White believes Sonnen eventually may wind up serving FOX in other roles, as well.

“FOX loves him,” White said. “He’s FOX’s No. 1 guy. I think this guy is going to cross over into other sports, not just MMA. … I like Chael. I like him a lot – it’s hard not to like the guy.”

Both before his fight with Jones, which ended with a first-round TKO loss with Jones as much as an 11-to-1 favorite, and after, Sonnen told media members he has interest in what the UFC is doing with its UFC 360 magazine title, as well as other ancillary products.

But with his decision to stick around and fight a while longer, those things may be put on the back burner until he retires.

If nothing else, he’s been crystal clear about the future he wants to take in the sport, and White has been just as clear about wanting Sonnen around.